Greg Holland has arguably been the Royals’ best reliever the past two seasons, and although he finally got a chance to close in the second-half of 2012, a couple major dominos had to fall for that to come to fruition. First, Joakim Soria was lost for the season to Tommy John surgery during spring training. Then, Soria’s replacement, Jonathan Broxton, was dealt to the Reds in a July trade. Finally, Holland became the man, and he handled the promotion with aplomb, presumably setting himself up nicely for first dibs on the ninth inning in 2013.

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BP Fantasy kicks back into gear today as the football season begins to wane and attentions begin to turn back toward baseball. For the next few weeks, the BP Fantasy team will spend time examining the keeper league value of various players that may be on the fringe of keepability in certain leagues. We know that every keeper league is different, so while we’ll talk in broad strokes, we’re happy to answer questions specific to your league or cover a particular player if you ask nicely :) The analysis, of course, will be focused on each player’s 2013 prospects, so even if you’re not in a keeper league, this should still prove valuable to your draft preparations. We've got some exciting things in the works for the coming season, and I'm happy to be able to kick it off today. —Derek Carty, Fantasy Manager

Josh Hamilton leads off this week's Keeper Reaper, followed by Craig, Campana, and Vernon Wells

ADP could stand for “Arlington's Drinking Problem” this week, as rumors surface about megastar Josh Hamilton being seen imbibing Monday. Also, reader requests for Craig and Campana, and a look at someone who won't be kept in any leagues but may be worth an earlier pick than is assumed.

Cueto, Strasburg, Fister, and Floyd crack this week's edition of the Keeper Reaper

It’s just three weeks until camps open (finally, a reason to get out of bed in the morning!), and we still don’t know where Edwin Jackson or Roy Oswalt are going to end up. I can understand Oswalt because he’s coming off back woes and is known to be very particular about where in the country he pitches, but who did Jackson tick off? Clearly he’s not getting the long-term deal he’d hoped for—and who can blame him after how often he’s moved—but someone’s going to end up with a solid pitcher for what could be a pretty decent deal.

Santana finished second only to Mike Napoli as the most valuable catcher in 2011. Santana's $19 season is even more impressive considering that he hit only .239 during his campaign; much of his contribution came from his 27 home runs and resulting counting stats. He seems to have a good chance to repeat his career 23 home runs per 600 PA rate, as his HR/FB rate of 15 percent seems reasonable given the scouting reports on him. Given his pedigree, one can only expect to see a bounce back to at least the 2010 version of his BABIP, possibly leading to a .250 to .260 batting average and even greater overall numbers.

What to make of fantasy players shifting across the diamond? Michael looks at the fallout of the Fielder signing, plus potential position moves by Miguel Cabrera, Mark Trumbo, and the already-certain moves of Hanley Ramirez

For fantasy owners, the difference between first- and third-base eligibility is huge—at least in leagues that ignore defense. That defensive liability can still have repercussions in real-world baseball, however, which trickles down to fantasy if a player can’t stick at the hot corner. Last week’s news featured several players going from the right side of the diamond to the left, but not all of those moves may be permanent and not all may be beneficial.

Following up on Chris Heisey, at present there's no real competition for a starting spot, and unless that changes, he should get about 90 percent of the playing time, which would be almost 600 at-bats, given his low walk rate and where he's likely to bat in the lineup. He hasn't been labeled a "proven veteran" yet, so there's always that chance that he could wash out, but Dusty Baker is loyal to players and sticks to his opinions, so it's more important that Heisey impress his manager in spring training than it is for him to post a 1.5 WARP in the first half.

Reader requests Harrison and Santana mingle with Kuroda and Dan Hudson in this week's Keeper Reaper

I was looking at the list of available free agent starters today, and man, is it barren out there if you're still hunting for starters. Other than Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson, your best bet is… Zach Duke? Jeff Francis? Kevin Millwood? It's like the Island of Misfit Toys out there. Let's get started on this week's Reaper with two user requests, and as always, I'm happy to take other suggestions in the comments.

Michael looks at the implication of the recent Cub trade, along with the newest Ray, Luke Scott, plus two excellent third basemen

Since last week’s column, Chicago hedged its first base bets by acquiring another Triple-A masher, while Luke Scott and Tampa Bay have reportedly come to terms on a one-year deal. But other teams (and fantasy owners) continue to await the fates of bigger names like Prince Fielder, Carlos Pena, Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guererro. Until those long-delayed deals come to fruition, I’ll look at two other fantasy options at the infield corners, one a personal favorite of mine. If you’ve got any faves that haven’t been covered, leave your suggestions in the comments section.